Boston Beer appointed Meghan V. Joyce, a 34 yr-old former exec at Uber, to its board of directors effective March 14, 2019, co announced. Meghan has an impressive resume, spending the last 6 yrs at Uber, most recently serving as Regional General Manager for all of US & Canada, as well as East Coast General Manager from 2015-2017 and Boston General Manager from 2013-2015. Prior to that, she worked as Senior Policy Advisor for US Dept of Treasury from 2011-2012, and worked as both an investor and consultant at Bain Capital. Meghan has an MBA from Harvard, where she also received her bachelor’s degree. “Meghan’s significant accomplishments and extensive experience in consumer recruitment and engagement, and using new technologies to reach audiences that align with our drinkers, will add significant depth to the Board as we grow our business, product portfolio, customer base, and employee base,” founder and chairman Jim Koch said in released statement.

Boston Beer appointed Meghan V. Joyce, a 34 yr-old former exec at Uber, to its board of directors effective March 14, 2019, co announced. Meghan has an impressive resume, spending the last 6 yrs at Uber, most recently serving as Regional General Manager for all of US & Canada, as well as East Coast General Manager from 2015-2017 and Boston General Manager from 2013-2015. Prior to that, she worked as Senior Policy Advisor for US Dept of Treasury from 2011-2012, and worked as both an investor and consultant at Bain Capital. Meghan has an MBA from Harvard, where she also received her bachelor’s degree. “Meghan’s significant accomplishments and extensive experience in consumer recruitment and engagement, and using new technologies to reach audiences that align with our drinkers, will add significant depth to the Board as we grow our business, product portfolio, customer base, and employee base,” founder and chairman Jim Koch said in released statement.

Boston Beer appointed Meghan V. Joyce, a 34 yr-old former exec at Uber, to its board of directors effective March 14, 2019, co announced. Meghan has an impressive resume, spending the last 6 yrs at Uber, most recently serving as Regional General Manager for all of US & Canada, as well as East Coast General Manager from 2015-2017 and Boston General Manager from 2013-2015. Prior to that, she worked as Senior Policy Advisor for US Dept of Treasury from 2011-2012, and worked as both an investor and consultant at Bain Capital. Meghan has an MBA from Harvard, where she also received her bachelor’s degree. “Meghan’s significant accomplishments and extensive experience in consumer recruitment and engagement, and using new technologies to reach audiences that align with our drinkers, will add significant depth to the Board as we grow our business, product portfolio, customer base, and employee base,” founder and chairman Jim Koch said in released statement.

Boston Beer appointed Meghan V. Joyce, a 34 yr-old former exec at Uber, to its board of directors effective March 14, 2019, co announced. Meghan has an impressive resume, spending the last 6 yrs at Uber, most recently serving as Regional General Manager for all of US & Canada, as well as East Coast General Manager from 2015-2017 and Boston General Manager from 2013-2015. Prior to that, she worked as Senior Policy Advisor for US Dept of Treasury from 2011-2012, and worked as both an investor and consultant at Bain Capital. Meghan has an MBA from Harvard, where she also received her bachelor’s degree. “Meghan’s significant accomplishments and extensive experience in consumer recruitment and engagement, and using new technologies to reach audiences that align with our drinkers, will add significant depth to the Board as we grow our business, product portfolio, customer base, and employee base,” founder and chairman Jim Koch said in released statement.

Boston Beer appointed Meghan V. Joyce, a 34 yr-old former exec at Uber, to its board of directors effective March 14, 2019, co announced. Meghan has an impressive resume, spending the last 6 yrs at Uber, most recently serving as Regional General Manager for all of US & Canada, as well as East Coast General Manager from 2015-2017 and Boston General Manager from 2013-2015. Prior to that, she worked as Senior Policy Advisor for US Dept of Treasury from 2011-2012, and worked as both an investor and consultant at Bain Capital. Meghan has an MBA from Harvard, where she also received her bachelor’s degree. “Meghan’s significant accomplishments and extensive experience in consumer recruitment and engagement, and using new technologies to reach audiences that align with our drinkers, will add significant depth to the Board as we grow our business, product portfolio, customer base, and employee base,” founder and chairman Jim Koch said in released statement.

Boston Beer appointed Meghan V. Joyce, a 34 yr-old former exec at Uber, to its board of directors effective March 14, 2019, co announced. Meghan has an impressive resume, spending the last 6 yrs at Uber, most recently serving as Regional General Manager for all of US & Canada, as well as East Coast General Manager from 2015-2017 and Boston General Manager from 2013-2015. Prior to that, she worked as Senior Policy Advisor for US Dept of Treasury from 2011-2012, and worked as both an investor and consultant at Bain Capital. Meghan has an MBA from Harvard, where she also received her bachelor’s degree. “Meghan’s significant accomplishments and extensive experience in consumer recruitment and engagement, and using new technologies to reach audiences that align with our drinkers, will add significant depth to the Board as we grow our business, product portfolio, customer base, and employee base,” founder and chairman Jim Koch said in released statement.

Following pilot in St. Louis since Nov 2018, Drinkworks Home Bar, the joint venture from AB and Keurig providing k-cup machines for cocktails, is rolling out across MO statewide as well as FL and CA, Wall St Journal reported. Recall, Drinkworks was one of several new Beyond Beer initiatives that received increased attention and stage time at AB’s SAMCOM distrib meeting earlier this yr. Drinkworks machines sell for $399 full price and $299 on sale, while k-cups sell in packs of 4 for $15.99 – “at $4 per drink, the price is higher in many cases than mixing a cocktail by hand,” paper noted. Previous Keurig JV with Coca Cola to sell similarly priced single-serve soft drink machines never panned out, in part because they were comparatively expensive and took a bit longer to make (60 seconds), WSJ adds. Yet AB/Keurig is “betting that its target consumers… will be attracted by the convenience of popping in a pod instead of measuring and mixing a cocktail.” While AB doesn’t own any large spirits brands, “the company is in discussions to license brands,” Drinkworks CEO Nathaniel Davis added. Perhaps recently acquired Cutwater Spirits can get in the mix as well?

Cutwater Adding Louisiana; Preparing for Cinco; In 5-6 MLB Stadiums, 12 Minor League Speaking of Cutwater, Earl Kight and co shared first slew of new news since announcing the acquisition nearly one mo ago. Cutwater brands will “soon” launch in Louisiana, Earl shared off the bat. Then too, with baseball season right around the corner, Cutwater will be available in 5-6 MLB stadiums and about 12 minor league stadiums. And with Cinco de Mayo holiday not too far either, Earl sent picture of a Cinco-themed floor display of its canned Tequila Paloma and Margarita brands sitting right in between AB Ritas and Modelo 12pks. “Stack the Margaritas and Paloma’s on the floor…don’t fear the beer” and “get right up tight!!” sez Earl.

Kantar data on US alc bev ad spending in Q4 shows big cuts by top 2 brewers in Q4, as detailed in report by CITI analyst Wendy Nicholson last week.  Full yr data not shown.  TV 87% of total spend in Kantar data, Wendy notes, so “figures may be incomplete and/or partly inaccurate” but “relative changes” remain “relevant.”  Indeed.  Kantar tracks spending in 12 major mediums, but “does not capture the majority of digital ad spend.”

These shocking stats show that AB and MC cut $89 mil, 31% from Q4 ad spend in Kantar data.  AB cut $44 mil, 24% in Q4 ad spending to $133 mil.  Meanwhile, MC cut $45 mil, 42% to $63 mil.  Recall, Molson Coors reported $77 mil, 16% cut in MC Q4 mktg, gen and admin expenses, tho it didn’t specify how much mktg cut. And ABI North American sales, gen and admin costs down $71 mil (organic), 6.5%, tho even harder to determine how much of that is US mktg.

At same time, Constellation continued to pour on gas.  Jumped beer spend $14 mil, 16% to $99 mil.  Spent 1.6x as much as MC. Just 2 yrs ago, MillerCoors spent more than double what STZ did in Q4 ($123 mil to $58 mil).  Since then MC spend cut in half, while Constellation jumped 71%.  Boston Beer and Heineken USA also made big cuts in Q4 2018.  Boston cut spending nearly in half, down $9 mil to $10 mil (recall, full yr spending up big, it reported). And HUSA cut spending $14 mil, 29% in Q4. 

Right back in the soup.  Total beer volume trend still getting worse. Now down 2.7% for 4 weeks thru Mar 9 in Nielsen all outlet.  That early Jan boost is completely in rear view mirror.  And yr-to-date biz down 0.4%, as trend only a little better than -1% for full yr 2018 in Nielsen all outlet. Timing of Easter will likely drive late Mar sales down further (Apr 1 last yr, Apr 21 this yr). 

Bud Light -9%, Coors Light -7% for 4 Weeks AB and MC still suffering biggest brunt of beer dropoff in scan data.  MC volume down 5.3% for 4 weeks, AB down 4.1%.  MC volume down 3.5% yr-to-date, while AB down 1.6%.   And each of their biggest brands off even more as “Corngate” currently not helping either.  Bud Light and Bud each down 9% for 4 weeks.  Down 6.4% and 6.6% YTD.  Coors Light down 7% for 4 weeks, 4.8% YTD. Miller Lite down 2.8% for 4 weeks. Now down 0.4% YTD. 

Slower Constellation; White Claw Gains Bigger Than Ultra, Modelo Especial for 4 Weeks Constellation remains biggest gainer yr-to-date.  Volume up 10% and gained 1 share of $$ YTD.  But only up 5% last 4 weeks.  Mike’s up 40% for 4 weeks and yr-to-date.  Up 0.8 share of $$ YTD. Mike’s led by White Claw natch. Seltzers are by far biggest winners in early 2019 and White Claw by far #1 seltzer.  White Claw franchise $$ sales up $15.7 mil for 4 weeks. That’s more than Mich Ultra (up $13.6 mil), tho not Ultra franchise (Ultra Pure Gold up $6.0 mil).  Also more than Modelo Especial (up $12.4 mil), and Modelo franchise (up $12.8 mil).

Constellation Brands “is in advanced talks” to sell some of its below premium wine brands to E & J Gallo Winery, reported CNBC. Sources noted while Constellation hoped wine brands “would fetch $3 billion,” sale is more likely to be in $2-bil range, after co invested $4 bil in Canopy marijuana biz back in Nov. While beer has been outperforming for Constellation, its below premium wine biz has been challenged as “Millennials aren’t engaging with wine as hoped,” per Silicon Valley Bank report.  Millennials “lack financial capacity, currently prefer premium spirits and craft beers, and have been slow getting into careers,” noted report as reasons for wine glut.